The disclosures herein relate generally to computer systems and more particularly to a configurable touchpad-mouse button combination for a portable computer.
Portable, battery-powered computers are popular due to their light weight and small size that permits them to be easily hand-carried in an ordinary briefcase and used by business travelers in cramped spaces, such as on airline seat back trays, lacking electrical plug-in facilities. Portable computers are often referred to as laptop, notebook, or subnotebook computers. These computers typically include a base portion and a pivotally attached lid portion. A flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other relatively small display is provided in the lid portion. The portable computer also incorporates both a hard and floppy disc drives, and a keyboard built into its base portion. It is a fully self-contained computer system able to be conveniently used, for at least short periods of time, in situations and locations in which the use of a much larger desktop computer is not feasible.
Various input devices are used to facilitate the human interaction with these computer systems. In the past, the primary input device simply consisted of the keyboard. The human operator or user entered data by typing on alpha-numeric, special function, and arrow keys from the keyboard. The entered data was usually displayed on the LCD display.
Subsequently, a more sophisticated and user-friendly interface encompassing the use of a cursor to perform editing and selection functions was developed. Typically, an input device coupled to the computer system is manipulated by the user to control the movement of a cursor on the display. One or more buttons are used to perform the desired selection functions. For example, a user can place a cursor over an icon displayed on the display monitor. The icon can then be selected by clicking the button. This xe2x80x9cpoint-and-clickxe2x80x9d feature has proven to be extremely popular and has gained wide acceptance.
There are several different types of input devices for controlling the cursor that are commercially available today. Some of these types include a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, a writing pen, and a stylus tablet, to name a few. The latest cursor controlling device for a computer system is the touchpad or trackpad. One type of touchpad uses field-distortion or capacitive sensing technology. Two layers of electrodes are arranged in a grid on the pad""s flat planar surface to create an electrical field. Finger movement on the touchpad distorts the electrical field allowing the cursor movement to be controlled by the touch of a finger. The user moves the cursor or arrow on their computer display by gliding a finger across the touchpad. To select items or launch applications, the user lightly taps the touch pad surface once or twice, similar to pushing the buttons on a mouse. Touchpads require less space than a mouse, therefore, they are more suitable for portable computers than a mouse. Touchpads are superior to trackballs in that they contain no moving parts and they do not get clogged or gummed up with dirt.
One problem with touchpads is they require a wider range of finger motion to operate than a trackball. A trackball requires a minimal amount of finger movement, approximately a xc2xc of an inch circle around the device. With a touchpad however, the user is required to incorporate the full width and length of the pad, approximately 1xc2xd to 2 inches, to move the cursor. Examples of touchpad and touch panel applications are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,308 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,848.
Another way to advantageously make a touchpad adjustable is to allow a user to orient the touchpad in variety of ways with respect to the computer system. Because touchpads are not symmetrically global, certain orientations of the touchpad are more convenient for users with different typing styles. It is known that a computer system is able to detect an orientation of a touchpad in a computer system and adjust the cursor control movements according to the orientation. Clark et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,194, teaches one method of compensating for a physical orientation of a touchpad relative to the display screen. This method allows for a horizontal movement on the touchpad operating surface to cause a horizontal movement of the cursor independent of which orientation is used.
In some portable computers the pointing device and input device typically include a touchpad and two push buttons. This built-in configuration is sometimes constraining. That is, if a customer requests a touchpad with three buttons, the notebook computer must be redesigned mechanically and electronically.
Cost is also a factor. Using conventional mouse buttons, several parts are required. Some of those parts include molded plastic buttons, a button board mounted under the buttons, and a cable connecting the button board to the motherboard. The more parts that are required, the more chances of failure exist. Also, more parts increase original costs, maintenance costs, and require increased inventory maintenance and management.
Therefore, what is needed is a configurable touchpad area for a portable computer including portions of the touchpad which are sectioned off for use as buttons. A portion of the touchpad area would provide a mouse-like function for finger movement to move a cursor or arrow on the computer LCD display. Another portion of the touchpad area would function as push buttons and could be configurable for a two or three button arrangement. The physical sectioning of the touchpad area could be accomplished either mechanically or graphically.
One embodiment, accordingly, provides a re-configurable touchpad-mouse button combination for a portable computer. The touchpad and buttons may be rearranged and configured by a user within a range of versions manufactured into the computer or programmable into the computer by the user. To this end, a touchpad overlay includes an overlay member for mounting on a touchpad, the overlay member including a first part and a second part. The first part of the overlay member includes a plurality of defined sections and the second part of the overlay member includes a single defined section. Means are provided for detachably mounting the overlay member on the touchpad.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that the user may select a configuration and/or use various configurations selectively to satisfy functional and personal preferences. With this arrangement, it would be easier to accommodate right and left-handed users. In addition, the use of interchangeable configurations will cut back on the amount of parts required, thus reducing costs and increasing reliability.